Hornets Fantasy Basketball: Where Will LaMelo Ball Be Drafted Next Year?

The Charlotte Hornets have nearly completed their regular season schedule. With fantasy basketball season finally winding down as well, let’s take a look back on the season and see how LaMelo Ball performed versus his second-year expectations.

Coming off of a Rookie of the Year campaign, Ball was projected to be a solid fantasy contributor in standard category leagues. With an average Yahoo! draft pick of 24, Ball hovered around the end of the second round in terms of draft positioning. In a standard 12-team league, this puts him at the turn in a draft. If you were able to snag him that late, congratulations! You are probably winning your league this weekend.

In his second year, Ball has taken massive steps forward in his all-around fantasy game. Making an All-Star team for the first time in his young career, Ball is averaging 20.0 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 7.4 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game, 0.4 blocks per game, and 2.9 triples per game on 42.5% field-goal shooting 86.7% free-throw shooting.

These numbers place Ball 15th in per game value and eighth in total value for the season. The main reason LaMelo has flown up the rankings this season is because of his improved free throw numbers. In his rookie season, Ball shot 75.8% on 3.2 free throws per game. This season, Ball is shooting 3.4 free throws per game at the aforementioned 86.7% for the year. That is an incredible jump in efficiency.

Overall, Ball brings massive positives with very few negatives to the table. Next season, it would be surprising to see him fall outside the top-15 in most drafts. The categories he struggles in, field goals and blocks, are two of the easiest categories to punt in fantasy basketball, which makes him a valuable target that can squeeze even more value if you are willing to sacrifice a couple of categories early on in the draft.

With such an impressive second season nearly in the books, look for LaMelo to fly up the draft boards even further next season. If you drafted him in a keeper league, hold onto him because he will be far more valuable next season than where you drafted him this season.